I’ve been dancing since I was 8, and its been a huge part of my life and a huge part of me. But I’ve had my ups and downs with it. I took a year off, and realized I loved it, so I tried to come back. It’s been a struggle the whole year I’ve been back, and I keep getting new injuries. I need to decide whether to go to college and get a “normal” job, or pursue a dance career, if that’s still possible at this point. What should I do?

No matter what you do, definitely go to college.

The very fact that you can ask this question means you should start pursuing another career. You know it, too. It just hurts to face the brutal truth.

Honestly, babe. Best case scenario, you’re a professional dancer for a few years. That’s if you’re extremely lucky, and those injuries aren’t good omens.

Then what? You will need a second career regardless of how the dance thing goes. Don’t think of college as what you’ll fall back on if things don’t work out. Think of it as staying one step ahead of the inevitable.

Be strong. This decision is a big deal. It’s one of those things that turns a girl into a woman. I wrote something in my personal blog the other day that really applies here, and I want you to take it to heart:

Sacrificing your dreams at the altar of reality is a rite of passage for everyone but a handful of rock stars and ballerinas. You can’t ever let that shit get to you, or else you’ll end up leading one of those lives of quiet desperation.

The trick is a healthy line of succession. When a dream dies, you gotta pick up that crown and put it on the next head right away. It doesn’t matter if the new dream is thirteen years old and terrified, that bitch is queen now.

The dream is dead. Long live the dream.